Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Lingayat Connect ("we", "us") handles the personal information of people who visit our website, register, create a profile, pay for a membership or contact us. We are the party that decides why and how your information is processed — what Indian law calls the "data fiduciary".

We handle your information in line with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules made under them. This policy should be read with our Terms & Conditions.

Registered office: Lingayat Connect, 8/1328, Near Abhay Milk Dairy, Sangli Naka, Sangli Road, Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur, Maharashtra 416115.

The information we collect depends on how you use the Service.

Some of this information — such as caste, community, horoscope, family and financial background — is sensitive. We collect it because a matrimonial service cannot work without it, and only because you choose to provide it.

We use your information for the following purposes:

• to create and manage your account and show your profile to eligible members;
• to help you search, filter and be matched with suitable profiles, and to let families send and receive interests;
• to verify identity and review profiles so that fake or misleading accounts can be found and removed;
• to process payments, activate and manage your membership plan, and prevent payment fraud;
• to answer your questions, resolve complaints and provide customer support;
• to keep the Service safe, enforce our Terms and comply with the law;
• to understand how the website is used so that we can fix problems and improve it.

We do not use your information for purposes that are unrelated to these, and we do not make decisions about you solely by automated means that have legal effect on you.

Your visibility depends on who is looking:

• Visitors who are not logged in see only limited, summary information. Phone numbers, email addresses and full family details are never shown to them.
• Registered members can browse profiles in the gallery within the limits of their plan or free trial.
• Paid members can open a full profile and view contact details only by using a profile view from their plan.
• Our team can see your profile and documents to review, verify and support your account.

If you submit an Aadhaar card or other identity document, we use it only to confirm that you are a real person and that the details on your profile are genuine. Specifically:

• the document is never displayed to other members or on any public page;
• it is accessible only to authorised team members who handle verification;
• we do not use it for advertising, and we do not share it with anyone except where the law requires;
• we do not use your Aadhaar number to authenticate you through any government system.

We recommend that you mask the first 8 digits of your Aadhaar number (a masked Aadhaar is acceptable) before uploading. You can ask us to delete your document once verification is complete; a verified status will remain on your profile unless you ask us to remove it.

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information. We share it only in these limited cases:

• Other members — the profile information you choose to publish, and your contact details when a paid member unlocks them or when you accept an interest.
• Payment provider — Razorpay Software Pvt. Ltd. receives the details needed to process your payment. Your card, UPI and bank details are entered on Razorpay's secure pages and are handled under its own privacy policy.
• Messaging providers — your mobile number and the text of the message are passed to WhatsApp (Meta) and our messaging gateway to deliver service messages to you.
• Hosting and technical partners — the companies that host our servers, database and backups, bound to use the data only to provide those services to us.
• Authorities — where required by law, court order or to protect the rights, safety or property of our members, ourselves or others, we may disclose information to the police or other competent authorities.
• Business change — if our service is ever transferred to another organisation, your information may move with it and this policy will continue to apply, and we will let you know.

When you tick the consent box at registration, we send you service messages on WhatsApp — for example registration confirmation, account and membership updates, and important notices. We do not send promotional messages through this consent, and we do not add you to groups.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by emailing lingayatconnect22@gmail.com or by asking us on WhatsApp. Withdrawal does not affect messages already sent, and we may still contact you where it is essential to your account or to meet a legal duty. OTPs and security messages may continue to be sent as long as you have an account.

We use a small number of cookies. They are necessary for the Service to function, and we do not use them to build advertising profiles.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, but the login and dashboard will not work without the session cookie.

We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect your data, including:

• storing passwords only in hashed form — we cannot read your password;
• using encrypted connections (HTTPS) for pages that handle logins and payments;
• restricting access to uploaded documents and the admin panel to authorised people, protected by login;
• using trusted providers for payments and messaging, and keeping payment secrets away from the public website;
• reviewing access and removing accounts or content that put members at risk.

No online system is completely secure, and we cannot promise absolute security. Please choose a strong, unique password, never share your OTP, and log out on shared devices. If we become aware of a breach that affects your data, we will inform you and the authorities as the law requires.

We keep your information only for as long as it is needed for the purposes in this policy:

• Active accounts: for as long as your account is open.
• Closed or deleted accounts: your profile, photos and documents are removed from the Service within a reasonable period after your request, except for the records we must keep.
• Payment and tax records: kept for the period required by Indian tax, accounting and company law.
• Complaints, fraud and legal matters: kept for as long as needed to resolve them and to meet legal requirements.
• Inactive profiles: may be hidden or removed after a long period of inactivity, after we have tried to contact you.

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and our own commitment to you, you may:

• Access a summary of the personal information we hold about you and how it is used;
• Correct or update inaccurate or incomplete information — most of it can be edited directly from your dashboard;
• Erase your information and close your account, subject to records we are legally required to keep;
• Withdraw consent for messages or other processing that rests on your consent;
• Nominate another person to exercise your rights if you die or become unable to do so;
• Complain to us, and if you are not satisfied, to the Data Protection Board of India once it is operational.

To exercise any of these rights, email lingayatconnect22@gmail.com from your registered email address or write from your registered mobile number. We may need to confirm your identity first, and we will reply within a reasonable time and no later than the law requires.

The Service is for adults who are of legal marriage age or for their parents and guardians. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18 for their own use. If you believe that a child's information has been given to us, please write to us and we will delete it promptly.

Our website may link to other websites, such as social media pages or payment pages. We do not control them and are not responsible for their privacy practices; please read their policies.

We serve Lingayat families in India and abroad. Your information may be accessed from, or processed by service providers in, other countries where you or our providers are located. Where this happens, we take steps to ensure it is handled with appropriate care and only as the law allows.

We may update this policy when our practices, services or the law change. The "last updated" date at the top of this page shows the current version. If a change is important — for example, a new purpose for using your data — we will notify you on the website, by email or on WhatsApp, and ask for your consent where the law requires it.

If you have a question, a complaint, or a request about your personal information, please write to our Grievance Officer. We will acknowledge your message promptly and aim to resolve it within 30 days.

• Grievance Officer: Lingayat Connect
• Email: lingayatconnect22@gmail.com
• Postal address: 8/1328, Near Abhay Milk Dairy, Sangli Naka, Sangli Road, Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur, Maharashtra 416115